Parents Aren't Worried About Debt. That's Bad News

America's parents worry more about inflation and setting a good financial example for their kids than taking on too much debt, a survey shows.

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In T. Rowe Price's 6th annual Parents, Kids & Money Survey, concern about debt ranked seventh among the eight financial worries parents were asked about. Just over half the parents (53%) worried about debt. The top two concerns of parents were the cost of things going up (72%) and setting a good financial example for their kids (69%).

When it comes to spending, only 34% of these same parents use cash most or all of the time, with 44% using credit or debit most or all of the time. Also, 44% of these parents carry a balance on their cards at least once a year, with 39% paying off their cards in full every month. Meanwhile, 65% of their children reported using cash for purchases, with only 8% using a credit or debit card.

The market research company MarketTools Inc. conducted the survey in the U.S. from Jan. 29-31, 2014, interviewing 1,000 parents and 924 children between the ages of 8 and 14. Its margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.